FOX.
In their new series “The Chicago Code,” FOX producers and directors (henceforth “meddlers”) took it upon themselves to alter a classic television and film scenario. Picture this: a policeman, finding himself confronted with a moral dilemma, wanders into a Catholic church and kneels down in prayer. You can practically smell the beeswax candles, maybe even see a faint pall of incense hanging in the air. The policeman silently fingers his rosary, while fighting an inner battle between what is right and what is easy. Then you hear footsteps coming down the aisle, and a kindly priest in his clerical garb stops, bends low, and whispers words of wisdom and comfort to the afflicted lawman.
But what’s this? Not on FOX?
Alas, no. In the particular episode in question, one of the main characters of the series, Wysocki, stops by a Catholic church and finds himself being offered spiritual counsel, not from a priest, but from a nun in street-clothes.
I don’t know about you, but I’d rather see a priest fulfilling that sort of role on television. After all, the real thing is terrifying enough without having to see it reenacted in the sanctuaries of our living rooms.
(On that note: Sr. Joan Sobala will be taking the place of District Attorney Jack McCoy in Law and Order’s next season. After all, if she can pretend to be a priest, she can pretend to be anything.)
"I am what I am, and it is what it is." Former DA Jack McCoy expresses his desire to become a male nun at a February 12th press conference. "If Sr. Sobala can fight for a female priesthood, I'll fight for a male nunhood."
(Photo credit for Sr. Joan: Emily McKean Photography)
I stumbled upon this video this morning as I was making my internet rounds. In essence, the City of Memphis got sick and tired of seeing its students “bustin’ the sag” – wearing their pants below the “thou shalt not” zone. And so, if any student is seen “bustin’ the sag,” they get “Urkeled.” Basically, the teacher, principal, or whoever sees them dressing like that is permitted (and encouraged) to pull their pants up above their navels, thus emulating the quintessential nerd from Family Matters. The students, who dread being forced to look like scholars of the very-intense variety, have opted to start dressing appropriately, thus negating the need for the teachers to rectify their sag-bustin’ tendencies. Indeed, the program has become quite a success, and may very well spread to other school districts.
Something which we have not, as of yet, addressed at Cleansing Fire is the topic of “liturgical etiquette,” that is, how people ought to act at Mass. Before you begin reading this post (and those which will follow it) you must realize that these observations are just that – observations. They are not judgments on people’s souls, attacks on children, or manifestations of cold-hearted anti-social tendencies. They are, however, simple pointers as to what you should and should not do at Mass. We will examine this in a multi-part series of posts which will encompass the following categories: 1. the Congregation, 2. the Servers, 3. the Lector, 4. the Choir, 5. the Family.
